P is for Photography

Until relatively recently, I would never have used the word ‘creative’ to describe myself. That changed during the summer of 2011 – a time during which stress and pressure caught up with me, mentally more than physically. I needed to take my mind off things and off myself. I felt the need to do something new and different. With some encouragement from my wife – a lifelong enthusiast of photography – I decided to try my hand with the only camera I possessed – my iPhone!

During the summer, as I travelled around Ireland and, closer to home, around Co. Wicklow, I took photos which I felt represented the beauty and character of the places I visited. At the end of the summer I compiled two photo-books (“Ireland by iPhone” and “iPhone Home”) using the best of the photos I had taken combined with brief words about the shots.

And that was it – hooked - so much so that I decided to acquire my first ‘proper’ camera that autumn. I was still a little scared of the ‘big’ cameras so I settled for a ‘little’ one but one which allowed me to take some control. I haven’t looked back since. I would be considered quite an observant person but until I took up a camera I didn’t realise just how much I was missing. I literally began to see the world with new eyes, looking for angles and opportunities that would be interesting to capture.

My ‘day job’ calls for quite an analytical approach and any ‘creativity’ is very much related to solving business problems. Most of my pastime pursuits, including my other great passion – music – were approached from an analytical rather than creative angle. Photography, however, affords me the opportunity to explore my ‘artistic’ creativity, something that lay dormant in me until now. I’ve also discovered that the process doesn’t begin and end in the camera. The old days of darkroom film processing have given way to computer processing of digital images and that’s something that fascinates me greatly. The creative possibilities are endless.

Photography and the creative process around it have been very good for me, helping me achieve a great balance and perspective in life. To my surprise, it has also enhanced my social life. There are regular meet-ups with local friends who share a love of photography. Additionally, I have found a great affinity between my love of photography and my social networking. I really enjoy connecting with people on Twitter and Facebook and I have found the latter to be an excellent way to connect with people who share a love of photography. Here I must also include Flickr – a kind of social networking site for sharing photos where, during 2012, I undertook a ‘Project 52’ – taking and posting one theme-based photo each week for a year. Through that project I was able to engage with and enjoy the work of many photographers from around the world. Many of them have now become personal contacts on Flickr and some even on Facebook. I’ve since moved on to more projects for 2013 but I’m making time to put the finishing touches to a photo-book of my first ‘52’ journey.

There is a long way to go and many more aspects of photography to be explored. I also feel ready now to move on to a ‘bigger’ camera. I sense it will be a lifelong learning experience but that’s a good thing. It will help me to keep looking outward at the world and the people around me in search of inspiration. I know it is going to be a very exciting and fulfilling part of my life and the great thing is the journey is only beginning!

If you would like to see more examples of my photography, here are some links to my online presence:

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/johnivory/ - my main online portfolio

500px: 500px.com/jwivory - just starting to build this portfolio

Setting Out My Stall for 2013

I’m a bit of a procrastinator by nature – if something can be put off until tomorrow, then generally that’s what I do. This, though, is not to be confused with laziness. I prefer to think of it as prioritisation. I like to prioritise things that interest and stimulate me. In very general terms, if something interests me, then I like to do it now. If something interests me less, then I prefer to put that off until another day. Very often we hear people say they don’t have time to do this or that. In reality what they are saying is – “it is not a priority for me right now”. In other words, they are saying it is not as important as whatever it is they are doing instead of it.

2012 was a good year for me in terms of doing what interests and stimulates me. My passions, as many of you know, are music and photography. Musically, our Folk Group undertook a number of really interesting and successful ventures – the high point of which was a major concert which raised over €5,000 for cancer support services in our locality. Photographically, I took over 8,000 pictures. While most of these were rubbish, they were interspersed by a sufficient number of decent shots to encourage me to keep learning and trying new things.

But what about 2013 – what do I want to achieve this year? Well, in no particular order:

• Finish my edits. Yes, I need to finish off the photo book that I promised I would do with the best shots from 2012. It is 90% complete – and I am definitely procrastinating over the last 10%. Need to fix that! 

• Take more photos. Ok – it might be difficult to take more than 8,000 photos but the key point is to keep shooting. If I’m honest, though, my real aim is to take better photos! 

• Get a new camera. My current camera (my first one, in fact, if you discount the camera in my phone) is a high-end compact. I now feel I am ready to experiment with different lenses and for that I am going to need a D-SLR camera. This is something I can put off for a while as it is important to choose the right camera for me. So no immediate rush to part with hard-earned cash, but it is something I need to do at some stage. 

• Start a new musical challenge. This plan has already been laid and will begin during March. More about that anon. 

• Write more. I started this blog with a view to developing my writing skills and to marry those with my photography. This is definitely something I procrastinated about in 2012. I lost count of the number of times I had an idea for a blog post but didn’t follow through on it. To be honest, writing scares me a little but that’s part of the challenge – to overcome that fear and do it anyway. 

I hope you achieve all that you dream of in 2013. Above all, decide what is important for you, what interests and stimulates you. If you are putting these things off until another day, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate. Life is to too short to procrastinate about what is important to you.

* The photo above is one of the very first I took this year, just after midnight at the New Year’s fireworks on Dun Laoghaire east pier.